Joey Barton has been banned for 12 matches and fined £75,000 by the Football Association, an unprecedented tariff that places his future at Queens Park Rangers in serious doubt. Before the ruling the club had already met to discuss options regarding their captain.

After finding the midfielder guilty of two charges of violent conduct in QPR's 3-2 defeat at Manchester City on the season's final day the chairman of the FA regulatory commission stated that Barton's behaviour "tarnishes the image of football".

For the two violent conduct counts Barton was handed an eight‑game suspension to follow on consecutively from the four matches he will already miss for being sent off in the game.

After receiving the red card for appearing to strike Carlos Tevez, Barton then kicked Sergio Agüero and attempted to headbutt Vincent Kompany. After the hearing, the regulatory commission chairman condemned the midfielder's actions, saying: "There are rules of conduct that should be adhered to, and such behaviour tarnishes the image of football in this country, particularly as this match was the pinnacle of the domestic season and watched by millions around the globe."

Barton admitted kicking Agüero but denied the charge involving Kompany and requested a personal hearing. However, the commission found against him. Barton now has leave to appeal, but his future at Rangers is also far from certain.

The FA statement said: "Barton accepted the charge of violent conduct against Agüero but denied the second breach of violent conduct against Kompany. The independent regulatory commission , however, found this second charge proved."

Barton's troubled season began when he was dismissed on 2 January in a 2-1 defeat by Norwich City at Loftus Road, before he compounded the incidents at the Etihad Stadium by later admitting on Twitter that he attempted to get one of the City players sent off too, claiming that a team-mate "suggested I should try to take one of theirs with me".

The midfielder has had a troubled history on and off the pitch. In December 2004 he was fined six weeks' wages for stubbing a lit cigar in the eye of a young team-mate during Manchester City's Christmas party. In May 2007 Barton was suspended by City after a training-ground altercation with Ousmane Dabo. He was charged with assault, and in July 2008 received a four-month suspended jail sentence. The FA also banned him for 12 matches, six of which were suspended and a £25,000 fine. Later that year he was arrested in Liverpool city centre after a late-night incident and later charged with common assault and affray, and in May 2008 was jailed for six months.

Paolo Di Canio's 11-match ban for pushing over the referee Paul Alcock in 1998 and Eric Cantona's nine-month suspension for attacking a spectator in 1995 are among the longest tariffs since the Premier League's formation.